The trial will not be held in January as originally intended. No date has been set and the next conference in the case is on Jan 18.

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Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas appeared at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains at a hearing on decision on switching out of his lawyers on Dec. 4, 2018.(Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News)Buy Photo

State prosecutors have offered a plea deal to Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas that would allow him to avoid jail time if he pleads guilty to a felony and resigns.

Thomas' lawyers declined to discuss the plea deal but suggested they had rejected it. They argued that it was unconstitutional because only the voters should be allowed to remove an elected official from office.

“Mayor Thomas has declared his innocence and our entire focus is on his total vindication in court," said Michael Pizzi, a lawyer representing Thomas. "The mayor will continue doing the job he was elected to do. He expects justice to prevail.”

The plea offer was announced by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Cort. It came at the end of a hearing in which Westchester County Judge Barry Warhit allowed Pizzi and another Florida lawyer, Ben Kuehne, to be admitted to practice in New York as part of Thomas' defense team.

Before that happened, Thomas waived any potential conflicts of interest related to the lawyers' close ties to Joseph Spiezio, a Thomas advisor whose companies they represent in Florida civil matters.

Thomas is charged with grand larceny and filing false statements, accused of stealing $12,900 in campaign funds and failing to report on city ethics forms another $75,000 that he received from his inaugural committee, companies run by his advisor Joseph Spiezio and other individuals.

He was adamant afterwards that he would not stop working for the residents of Mount Vernon.

The plea offer involves the lowest level felony, punishable by up to three years in prison. But prosecutors did not specify which one Thomas would have to plead guilty to, a grand larceny charge or a false statement charge related to his campaign's financial filings.

State law calls for an office to be vacated when the elected official is convicted of a felony. Prosecutors would want Thomas to resign immediately if he pleads guilty because a conviction does not take effect until sentencing.

Kuehne focused on the plea condition in claiming the offer was unconstitutional.

"The criminal justice system does not stand as a veto on the will of the people," Kuehne told reporters. "The public elected Mayor Thomas by an overwhelming margin and only the public can determine whether he is fit to be their mayor. They've determined that and that's the place, the ballot box, not a criminal courtroom. The Attorney General's Office misunderstands a fundamental concept of our constitutional democracy."

The Attorney General's Office cited several instances in which they linked resignations to plea offers, including a state Supreme Court judge in Erie County, John Michalek, who took bribes and left the bench when he pleaded guilty last year.

Thomas' trial will not be held in January as originally intended. No date has been set and the next conference in the case is on Jan. 18.

A grand jury is also considering whether any crimes were committed when some of Thomas' legal bills were paid for with city funds as prosecutors have claimed.